Dean Holden has heaped praise on Peterborough United ahead of Saturday’s meeting at the Weston Homes Stadium.
The Addicks travel to Cambridgeshire having exited the Carabao Cup at the hands of Newport County in midweek. That was preceded by a 1-0 win against Leyton Orient in last weekend’s League One curtain raiser in SE7.
”There’s a lot of learnings from Tuesday night and we have to move on quickly,” said Holden. “We’ve got another game coming up at Peterborough on Saturday, which will be a tough game. There’s some really good players in that squad so it will be a big test for us.
”Jack Taylor is a top young prospect and a real coup for Ipswich to sign. Having said that, Peterborough have brought in Archie Collins, who I believe is a really good player, from Exeter.
“They’ve obviously kept hold of Jonson Clarke-Harris and they’ve got [Kwame] Poku still in there. [Ephron] Mason-Clark picked up an injury last week so we’ll see on that. I think [Hector] Kyprianou in midfield is a good player and they’ve kept hold of Ronnie Edwards - I’m going through quite a few now!
“I believe they’ve got a really good team. Darren’s been in and out really over the last couple of years but it’s a team he knows well and it’s a team that has been together for quite a while. We know their way of working, we know their style of play and we know where their threats are. I’m looking forward to seeing us going there and really stamping our authority on the game.”
Asked how his squad is shaping up for this weekend’s trip, Holden said: ”Obviously we got through pre-season with only Miles [Leaburn] picking something up, which was a knock that no one could have really done much about.
“In the last couple of games we’ve picked up some knocks and niggles which we’re still assessing and will continue to do so right up until kick-off. We go there with high hopes on Saturday.”
The gaffer also provided an update on the transfer front. He explained: ”We’ve got a plan. We’re in the market for good players who we believe will come in and improve us. Sometimes they take a bit longer, as you’ve seen throughout pre-season, for different reasons.
“We’re not going to rush to go and get a player to bring in now that we don’t believe is the right player for the football club; we won’t do that. We’re still pushing on and trying to be active in bringing targets in.
“As I’ve said before, there will be other players moving on, as is normal at this stage of the season. My full focus at the moment is on getting the team ready to go and win our second game out of two in the league.”
Supporters outside of the UK and Ireland can watch every kick of this weekend’s game live on CharltonTV. Click here to purchase your match pass.
Meanwhile, fans in the UK and Ireland can enjoy live audio commentary from the Weston Homes Stadium. Click here to get your audio pass.
